CYCLING

CYCLING; While Armstrong Glides, Pantani Regains Old Glory

By SAMUEL ABT

Published: July 17, 2000

COURCHEVEL, France, July 16—
No doubt about it, Marco Pantani is back.

Pantani, the star Italian climber who is mending from a year of humiliation, depression and rust, motored away from everybody in the Tour de France today and won his second mountain stage in four days.

This time Pantani needed no assistance from Lance Armstrong, the race's overall leader, who did not contest the final sprint on Mont Ventoux on Thursday, giving the victory to Pantani, his traveling companion. The Italian needed nobody's grace today.

He sped away from a small group, including Armstrong, with five and a half kilometers to go in the 173.5-kilometer (108-mile) trip over three daunting climbs and swept past the remnants of an early breakaway still ahead on the road. At the finish line in the frigid resort of Courchevel, Pantani was first by 41 seconds.

Once Pantani, the leader of the Mercatone Uno team, emerged from a short tunnel before the banner marking the final kilometer, his only serious competition was a fan, dressed in a Kelme uniform and wearing No. 21, who suddenly appeared behind him on the course. The fan, only one of several dozen who ran or rode alongside the riders, was quickly dismounted.

The second-place finisher was Jose Maria Jiminez, a Spaniard with Banesto. Roberto Heras, a Spaniard with Kelme, was third, 50 seconds behind Pantani.

Pantani's total time from the start in Briancon was 5 hours 34 minutes 46 seconds, a speed of 32 kilometers an hour (20 miles an hour) in the 15th of 21 daily stages before the Tour ends in Paris on Sunday.

By finishing fourth, 50 seconds behind the winner, Armstrong entered the category of certain Tour winner, barring accident or illness. He increased his overall lead to 7:26 over Jan Ullrich, a German with Telekom, who finished 3:21 behind Pantani. Joseba Beloki, a Spaniard with Festina, is third, 7:28 behind Armstrong, the leader of the United States Postal Service team. Pantani moved up three places to sixth over all, 9:03 behind Armstrong, but only 1:37 behind Ullrich. Armstrong is obviously using Pantani as his cue on big climbs, attacking when Pantani does and riding with him away from rivals. He wisely did not try to match Pantani's final pace and risk exploding, a tactic probably approved by team officials over the two-way radio Armstrong wears in an earplug.

Pantani, 30, won the world's two major races, the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, in 1998 and was on his way to repeating in the Giro last year when, two days before the finish, he was expelled for failing a blood test that indicated the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He did not return to racing until February, when he competed for two days in Spain before withdrawing again.

In late May, he entered the Giro at the last moment and showed the effects of his hibernation, although he showed his old speed on one mountain stage. In this 87th Tour, he was discreet until the Pyrenees a week ago, then began to flower on the Ventoux. He was third Saturday in the first of three days in the Alps.

After a day off Monday, Pantani gets another chance to steamroll the 137-man field on Tuesday over three more major Alpine climbs.

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Tour Spectator Dies

MARSEILLE, France, July 16

(Agence France-Presse) -- A 12-year-old boy who was struck by a car traveling with the Tour de France caravan died here today, a hospital spokesman said.

The boy was injured during Friday's 13th stage, when the car ran into the youngster, a race spectator, causing head, thigh and hip injuries.